HYDERABAD, Sept 27: The Sindh United Party on Saturday described the proposed privation of Qadirpur gas field as an anti-Sindh step and said the party would resist any move to sell off the mineral resources of the province.

The general secretary of the party, Syed Zain Shah, said at a news conference at the press club that the move would lead to displacement of thousands of people and an increase in joblessness.

“When out of power, the Pakistan People’s Party always becomes champion of Sindh’s rights but when it is voted into power, it does not feel any qualms in taking anti-Sindh decisions,” he said.

Mr Shah said that a PPP government allocated budget for the construction of Kalabagh Dam and agreed to distribute water according to the recommendations of the ministerial committee in 1994. The PPP government had also allowed the construction of Chashma-Jehlum link canal and maintained a discrete silence over the construction of Greater Thal Canal, he recalled.

Besides, the PPP government had once again forgotten everything about the announcement of a judicious National Finance Commission award and grant of provincial autonomy, he said.

The present PPP government was repeating its history by already handing over coal reserves of the province to the federation and announcing the privatisation of Qadirpur gas field, he said.

He said that the party would stage hunger strike at all the district headquarters on Oct 8 and block the National Highway in Ghotki by staging a sit-in on Oct 26 to voice its opposition to the privatisation of gas field.

“We will launch a relentless struggle to save our mineral resources,” Mr Shah said. The 60 years history of the country was replete with administrative corruption and uncalled for expenses of the rulers, which had caused the country to suffer great losses, he said.He pointed out that Sindh’s share in revenue in the federal pool stood at 70 per cent but it received only 23 per cent on the basis of population. Even the 23 per cent was seldom given to Sindh, he said.

As a result, Sindh was in the grip of large-scale unemployment and lawlessness and the poor were forced to commit suicide, Mr Shah said.

Referring to the country’s mineral resources, he said that there were 173 gas fields in Pakistan out of which 140 were in Sindh, 22 in the Punjab, seven in Balochistan and four in Pukhtunkhwa, which put Sindh’s share in gas production at 56 per cent and in oil at 71 per cent. If the Lakhra, Sondha, Badin and Thar coal deposits were put together, Sindh sat on 98 per cent of the country’s total coal reserves, he added.

He regretted that instead of using the resources, which providence had gifted to Sindh, on people’s welfare by setting up powerhouses and generating jobs for people, the resources were being auctioned and it had been started with proposed privatisation of Qadirpur gas field valued at billions of dollars.

He alleged that Sindh’s ministers were corrupt and cited the incident at Makli graveyard, which was being occupied by the father of a minister, who was also instrumental in attack on journalists when they were performing their professional duties.

Mr Shah said that the state land was being grabbed everywhere by land grabbers, who enjoyed the support of high-ups and referred to wide-scale land occupation in Gadap, Nawabshah and vegetable market in Hyderabad.

He said that more cases of kidnappings were reported in Sindh than in the rest of the country and called upon Sindhis to unite on one platform to protect its mineral resources and fight against social evils.

Dr Dodo Maheri, Naveed Ameen Khwaja and Ameer Ali Thebo were also present at the news conference.